scrubbing tower

scrubbing tower, a form of carbon capture in which carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from air funneled into a large, confined space by wind-driven turbines. As air is taken in, it is sprayed with one of several chemical compounds, such as sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide. These chemicals react with the CO2 in the air to form carbonate precipitates and water, and these by-products could then be piped to safe storage locations. So far, several prototypes have been built; however, most climatologists maintain that an enormous number of scrubbing towers would be needed to counteract rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations at a global scale (see alsogeoengineering).